The Labour Force Survey conducted in April of this year shows an unemployment rate of 21.2 percent. This is a very significant increase on the last recorded unemployment rate of 13.4 percent in September 2018. Even with a decreasing population, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) detected an increase of more than 6,000 unemployed persons in the last six months. This increase consists of people who were previously employed or economically inactive. The economically inactive persons are those who are not employed and for various reasons are not actively looking for employment.

The labour force of a country are those who are employed or are actively looking for work. In September of 2018, CBS recorded a labour force of 70,153 people as opposed to the current size of the labour force which is 73,097. This increase can be completely contributed to the 64% increase of the estimated unemployed population which grew from 9,424 people to 15,464 in the last six months.

Unemployment has a direct effect on private households as the purchasing power decreases which can lead to more unemployment as businesses lose income. It also effects the governmental coffers as lower purchasing power signifies lower income for the government and thus an imbalance in the budget.